France bans short-haul flights as it looks to cut transport emissions

A French prohibition connected home short-haul flights erstwhile alternate bid journeys beryllium came into unit this week, with 1 lawmaker hailing it arsenic "an indispensable step" successful the country's efforts to chopped greenhouse state emissions.

The law, which was published via decree, fundamentally prohibits nationalist interior flights betwixt French destinations erstwhile a bid travel of nether 2 hours and 30 minutes is available.

France is location to an extended high-speed obstruction network. According to a CNBC translation, the formation substitution applies lone erstwhile bid question "provides a satisfactory alternate service."

It means nationalist rider flights betwixt Paris-Orly and cities similar Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon, are affected by the law. Connecting flights are not impacted.

In a statement translated by CNBC, Clément Beaune, transport minister, described the determination arsenic "an indispensable measurement and a beardown awesome successful the argumentation of reducing greenhouse state emissions."

Beaune besides said the prohibition was a "global archetypal that is afloat successful enactment with the Government's argumentation of encouraging the usage of modes of proscription that emit less greenhouse gases."

The World Wildlife Fund describes the biology footprint of aviation arsenic "one of the fastest-growing sources of the greenhouse state emissions driving planetary clime change."

The WWF besides says aerial question is "currently the astir c intensive enactment an idiosyncratic tin make."

The quality retired of France comes arsenic the wider statement astir backstage pitchy usage wages on. In March 2023, analysis published by Greenpeace showed the fig of backstage pitchy flights successful Europe past twelvemonth jumped by 64% to a grounds precocious of 572,806.

The usage of backstage jets by high-profile, affluent radical generates a ample magnitude of discussion.

During a BBC interview earlier this year, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was asked for his presumption connected the complaint that a clime alteration campaigner's usage of a backstage pitchy was hypocritical.

"Well, I bargain the golden modular of, backing (CO2 removal firm) Climeworks to bash nonstop aerial seizure that acold exceeds my family's c footprint," Gates, who was being interviewed successful Kenya, replied.

"And I walk billions of dollars connected ... clime innovation. So, you know, should I enactment astatine location and not travel to Kenya and larn astir farming and malaria?"

The billionaire added that helium was "comfortable with the thought that, not lone americium I not portion of the occupation by paying for the offsets, but besides done the billions that my Breakthrough Energy Group is spending, that I'm portion of the solution."

While the nonstop aerial seizure assemblage has high-profile backers, it faces challenges. The International Energy Agency notes that capturing c dioxide from the aerial "is much vigor intensive and truthful costly than capturing it from a constituent source."

It adds that technologies similar nonstop aerial seizure "are not an alternate to cutting emissions oregon an excuse for delayed action, but they tin beryllium an important portion of the suite of exertion options utilized to execute clime goals."

—CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this report